Disharmony
by Sita Masters
Summary: Audrey after the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. leave
1. Chapter 1

Audrey watched the SHIELD SUV pull away, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly. It was so hard to think of SHIELD anymore. Phil was dead. Giving his life while in the service of that agency.

But that wasn't the only reason SHIELD was hard to think about.

Back in her apartment, Audrey flipped through the collection of vinyl she'd obtained over the years. While she mostly drowned herself in classical music, tonight she needed blues. Her eyes twinkled as she found the record she wanted, coaxing the dark circular vinyl from its case. The needle made just the faintest scratching sound as she feathered it onto the record.

The deep voice of Nina Simone seemed to sooth that nerve that had been left raw. _"Birds flying high, you know how I feel…"_

Audrey swayed over to her wine rack, plucking out a sweet red. It always went to her head too quickly but tonight she didn't care. Tonight she had been reminded of two men that SHIELD had taken from her. Her lover…

And her brother.

She made the solid choice to attempt reaching into the top of the closet before actually drinking the wine. The small footstool was clumsily awkward when she was sober, let alone if she had been tipsy. There, in the far back of the closet, she pushed a little hidden hatch away, revealing a dusty scrapbook. Tonight would be about memories.

Wine poured, shoes off, music playing and sitting cross-legged on her living room floor, Audrey was ready. She opened the scrapbook to look at her family. They had always seemed so picture perfect. They were some sort of greeting card family. The book had been put together by her mother, chronologically arranged starting with her parents' wedding photos and moving on to the birth of the children. Her two older brothers, then her, then her youngest brother. Her fingers traced over the image of her second eldest brother. He was in SHIELD. Hell, he'd been the one to help her disappear. He'd probably be spitting tacks if he knew she dated a SHIELD agent. He'd wanted to give her a normal life.

And now Audrey, formally Elizabeth Ward, found herself in SHIELD's eyesight again.

There was a picture of she and Grant at a campout. He'd pulled her into a tight hug. Even at the age of 13, he'd known he had to protect her. Of course, that protection was just from Christian. And it had worked. She was free, living as a cellist in Portland with not a care…

But somehow, threats still found her. Threats always found the Ward's. Because they were a threat.

Audrey slammed the scrapbook closed as she finished her bottle of wine. She'd meant to only have a glass but the numbing sensation had finally let her access her memories without spilling over in tears. She stood, pausing as the room stopped spinning, and went to her cell, dialing her voicemail. There was a message still on there.

_"Hey, it's Phil. Just to let you know, you'll actually need two weeks and a bikini."_ There was a chuckle. _"We'll have the suite…"_

Audrey hung up, the tears finally coming. She could never be happy. She could never be free.

She was a Ward.


	2. Chapter 2

Spoilers: "The Things We Bury."

_"5am  
>Friday morning<br>Thursday night  
>Far from sleep<br>I'm still up and driving  
>Can't go home<br>Obviously  
>So I'll just change direction<br>Cause they'll soon know where I live  
>And I wanna live<br>Got a full tank and some chips"_

Audrey didn't know what that smell was that was singeing her nostrils. She'd gotten that irksome feeling to go to the summer home and had indulged, only to see Grant and Christian there with their parents.

"Elizabeth?" Grant gasped.

She swallowed. "Wh-what… I thought that no one would be here." Her stomach sank further as she realized why her parents weren't getting up to greet her. They were tied to their respective seats. And Christian's face was bloody.

Christian stepped forward barely before Grant shoved him back. "Don't touch her!"

Audrey couldn't help the squeak that escaped. Even after all these years, Grant was standing between her and her abusers. "What's going on?"

"I didn't want you to see this," Grant informed her. "You shouldn't have to be here for this."

"F-for what?" She took a tentative step closer.

"They're finally going to pay. All of them." Grant held up the tiny tape recorder. "And we'll finally be free."

Finally free.

It finally hit her. What she'd been smelling. Gasoline. "Leave it all in ashes," she whispered.

Grant nodded, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'll never let them touch you again."

Audrey glanced at the frightened face of her father, to the confused look on Christian, and the anger on her mother's face. Inhaling the fumes of the gasoline once more seemed to ignite the fire inside of her. "No, Grant. Not like this." Before he could protest, she took the box of matches from him. "I have to do this. I have to free myself."

Grant swallowed and nodded, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'll wait out by your car." He gave a last glance to Christian. "If you hurt her and try to escape, fire will be the least of your worries." He walked out, leaving Audrey alone with them.

She glanced at Christian first. "Sit." The word was simple but the venom behind it was so staggering that he had no choice but to obey. "You tried to out Grant to the world. You tried to make him your little poster boy for evil so you could win your next election."

Christian shook his head. "Lizzy, you-"

"Shut up!" Audrey snapped. "I came out here to see if I could find one thing to hold on to. And now I see that was my problem. I've been holding on to this idea that you all deserve a second chance. I've been holding on to the idea of a picture perfect family. I've been holding on to the idea that one day… one day we can really be something good."

"We can," Christian whispered.

"No," Audrey shook her head. "There's only one way to let go of your demons." She struck a match. "Watch them burn." She dropped it on to the floor and watched the flames race to her parents.

They never screamed.

Audrey's hands were shaking as she made it back to her car. The crackling of the walls ablaze behind her were the soundtrack to the breaking of the walls inside. She looked up to Grant with misty eyes. "Thank you," she whispered. "It's over."

"For you," Grant amended. "I still have work to be done." He hugged her tight. "But I will never stop watching over you."

"Of course not. We're family."


End file.
